Subjects: Alice Springs crime crisis; Indigenous Voice to Parliament; Medicare; changes to the $5 note.
E&OE
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Well, we may finally have solutions to the ongoing crisis gripping Alice Springs. A new report handed to the PM proposing new alcohol laws and extra funding. This, as the PM met with Indigenous leaders to discuss the Voice to Parliament alongside Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who joins us now. Pete, good morning to you.
PETER DUTTON:
‘Morning Karl.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
You took part in that major meeting to discuss the Voice to Parliament. Have you made up your mind yet what you’re going to do?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Karl, obviously we’ve said, like all Australians, we want to see a better outcome for Indigenous people of our country. We want to see the health gaps narrow, we want to see the life expectancy improve and we, you know, are willing to look at any measure to do that. There are lots of questions around the Voice, lots of detail that hasn’t yet been provided. The Prime Minister wrote back to my letter, I’d ask 15 pretty basic questions – which are the questions people are asking me – and we haven’t got a response on that yet. So, it’s obviously a political strategy by the PM not to put that detail out, but I think the pressure continues for him to put it out so that people can make an informed decision.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Isn’t there like a 175 page document that’s been written about it? Have you read that yet?
PETER DUTTON:
Yeah, there’s a 272 page document and the government hasn’t adopted that document. All they keep doing is referring to it. Now, if they want to say that that’s the report that they adopt – bearing in mind that there are some options within the report, it’s not a definitive model – if they want to say this is what we’re going to roll out if you vote for the Voice, fair enough, but they haven’t said that….
KARL STEFANOVIC:
So, you’d say yes if that was the case?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, some of the detail is in there which provides options to the government. So, we don’t even know which options they’re talking about. One of the, I think, really bad things that they’re talking about at the moment is that they aren’t going to publish the case for yes and no and distribute that to Australians for their consideration, and that’s been the case in Referendums past so that people again can make an informed judgement.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay. You wrote a letter asking the Prime Minister to answer those 15 questions, as you mentioned. Let’s have a listen to what Nationals Leader David Littleproud had to say about the Referendum on our show in December.
[excerpt]
DAVID LITTLEPROUD:
…there is a lot of detail, and the Prime Minister’s been very upfront about that, and I thank him for that…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Have you have you spoken to David about all those details?
PETER DUTTON:
Karl, I’d love to see that full clip instead of that sort of half sentence. I don’t know the context of what David was talking about or the question of what he went on to say, but I think it’s pretty clear, and David’s been clear about his position that the National Party don’t support the Voice.
We’ve said that we want the detail so that we can consider it all, and I think frankly, most Australians are asking for the detail as well. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for the detail. There are some models which could work, others that can’t. We had an ATSIC not too long ago and Indigenous Australians called for its abolition because it just wasn’t working, and when you see what’s happening, the tragedy, the human tragedy in Alice Springs at the moment it’s clear that what’s been happening so far doesn’t work and a lot of Indigenous voices up in the Northern Territory at the moment are asking, pleading for help from their Prime Minister and they’re just not getting it.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Can you give us a timeframe on when your decision will be made?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I’ve got to make a decision as to whether the Prime Minister is going to release the detail or whether he’s just playing for time. As I say, I think it’s a mistake. I just think if people have the information before them, there’s a lot of goodwill…
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay.
PETER DUTTON:
…But it seems that they’ve made this political decision to bring it on early and not to provide the detail, that it can be just passed on the vibe, but this is a change to our Constitution. It’s unlike if you change the law in Parliament, you can amend that later on, or improve it, but with the Constitution, you can’t change that.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Okay, two quick ones. Medicare today; there’s obviously significant changes that need to be made and fast, especially given what’s happening in Queensland at the moment too. What needs to happen today and will it?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Karl, the government’s cut funding for 70 telehealth services under Medicare, and they’ve also halved the assistance that we’d put in place to provide support to people with – particularly kids – with mental health issues, and that just adds pressure on to the GPs. You’ve also got a lot of hospital ramping because there are too many bureaucrats and not enough doctors and nurses within the hospital system, so it just grinds everything to a halt. So, they’ve got to try and strip out some of that bureaucracy, get the money back to the frontline, doctors and nurses and the ambos, and the government needs to restore that funding to those telehealth services because it takes pressure off the waiting rooms of general practice around the country.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Let’s see what happens today. The $5 note. I mean, I just want to know Pete, why do you care so much about this? I mean, no one’s going to use $5 notes in five years. You can’t even get a pie for five bucks if you live in Adelaide. Why do you care so much?
PETER DUTTON:
Well Karl, I suppose most people at the moment are more worried that the five bucks doesn’t buy them as much as it used to with all the cost of living pressures going up. So, that will be people’s main concern, which I can understand. But I think there’s a history to this where the monarch’s been on the lowest denomination of your currency, that’s continued on.
We’ve got lots of recognition for Indigenous and other pioneers of our country on the different banknotes, and I just think it’s a continuation of heritage. We should be proud of it, incredibly proud of our Indigenous heritage, but we should also be proud of our British heritage. It’s the underpinning of society as we know it today and we’ve got a great migrant story to tell in our country.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
You old fuddy duddy, you.
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I just think…I don’t think it’s too fuddy duddy to say we’ve got a great Indigenous heritage, we should celebrate our British heritage as well and also our migrant story. It’s the three legs that make us a great country and we shouldn’t try and rewrite history.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
That would be interesting on the $5 note. Thanks Pete, talk to you soon.
[ends]